Paddy Clancy column: Covid isn't the only threat to the world as Boris happy to break the law

"Brussels chiefs and Irish government diplomats have an unbelievably difficult, maybe impossible, task ahead to drill sense into Britain'

A couple days ago I received a Facebook message of a cartoon showing a jubilant Boris Johnson, clad in Union Jack jersey, standing behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Johnson’s hand is raised behind Merkel’s head with the famous Churchill v-shaped two-finger gesture.

The caption carries a quote from Johnson: “We win again, bye bye.”

The message was from an English acquaintance I sometimes meet when we holiday in the same part of Spain.

Now, I could dismiss the message as an isolated taunt from a lone English person who probably thought it was funny to irritate me.

But I also know he sent the message to several of his English friends who would be pleasantly amused.

I know many other English people he mingles with and they are all pro-Brexiteers despite regularly holidaying in Spain.

Why they choose to vacation in an EU country despite their loathing of EU administrators in Brussels is a debate for another day!

They don’t care that Boris Johnson’s latest excuse for a V-sign over the back of a German leader’s head is based on a pledge to break the law.

Whatever we believe in Ireland, and despite the fury of former premiers Theresa May, John Major, Tony Blair and David Cameron at this latest threat to Britain’s international reputation, Johnson seems set to get away with his great lie.

Dominic Cummings’ poisonous politics and his zany advice to Johnson and dotty Cabinet Minister Michael Gove are based on an insight into the mood of the British voter.

It was that unique vision that prompted his high-risk “Get Brexit Done” strategy that pushed Johnson into No 10 Downing Street.

There is no doubt that Cummings was lead advisor to Johnson when he decided to undermine the Northern Ireland protocol in Britain’s withdrawal agreement from the EU in advance of a trade deal.

Cummings, with an abrasive style and uncompromising attitude, would not hesitate to wreck any deal and lose respect for Britain across the rest of the world so long as it meant his country was permanently ending its connection to the EU.

He knew that was uppermost priority in voters’ minds when they opted for Brexit.

So I am not at all surprised that I received a cartoon with Union-Jacked Boris making a rude gesture behind Angela Merkel’s head.

Unfortunately, that is the way a lot of Cummings’ fellow countrymen and women still feel.

The intricacy of the Irish protocol to preserve the Good Friday agreement and to ensure a relaxed border is not just too difficult for them to understand!

They don’t care about it. It refers to a little country across the sea from them, not to the great empire which many believe is ready to rise again if only they can get rid of tiring regulations that tie Britain to the EU.

Brussels chiefs and Irish government diplomats have an unbelievably difficult, maybe impossible, task ahead to drill sense into Britain.

It’s not just Covid that’s a major threat to the world; it’s also the mentality of a government that doesn’t care if it lies to get what it believes its people want.